Assad and Russia intensify their bombing of Idleb as the war in Israel continues

2023-10-10 13:58:05

At least 42 civilians -of which 20 are minors— have died in the Syrian rebel region of Idlebin the northwest of the Arab country, since the planes of the Syrian regime and its ally, Russiawill increase their bombing campaign this weekend against the entire region.

This wave of attacks, which began on October 5, increased exponentially since Saturday, coinciding with the Hamas attack against Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip. Damascus and the Syrian president, Bashar Al Asadas Hamasis a close ally of Iran, from which it receives political, military and financial support.

“Syrian regime forces have launched artillery and missiles against buildings public administration, hospitals, markets, schools, parks and archaeological spaces throughout the Idleb region,” says in a note the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH)a Syrian NGO based in London but with observers on the ground.

According to this organization, in the last four days alone, five hospitals and health centers have been bombed by Assad and his ally, Moscow. Among these facilities is the Idlib university hospital, the largest in the entire region, the only one under direct rebel control in all of Syria. Idlib is currently controlled by the militia. Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)a former affiliate of Al Qaeda who cut off the jihadist group for having renounced international terrorism as a form of struggle.

An old tactic

Bombings against hospitals are nothing new in Syria. Russia and Assad have been accused on multiple occasions in the past of having carried out these types of attacks thanks to Moscow receiving the coordinates of these health centers by the HIM —to avoid precisely what ends up happening later—.

There’s more: Russia, in both Syria and Ukraine, practices a bombing technique known as ‘double tap’what is a double bombardment. It involves bombing the same place twice: the second attack occurs a few minutes after the first, when the forces have already arrived at the place. medical and rescue serviceswhich become a target.

“This new cycle of indiscriminate attackswhich occur at an intensity not seen since 2019, will only worsen the already very serious humanitarian situation in northwestern Syria, where more than four million peopleespecially women and minors, completely depend on international aid to survive,” the organization said in a statement published this Tuesday. international NGO CAREwhich works in Idlib under the umbrella of United Nations.

“The humanitarian situation in the area is precarious after more than a decade of conflict, a extreme poverty spread, epidemics – in the region, in recent years, several cholera outbreaks—, and the devastating earthquakes in February of this year,” the organization’s statement continues.